When you book a trip to somewhere adventurous like the Arctic, you want to make sure that every second of the journey is packed with as much excitement as possible. But in order to do this, you need to know a variety of things about your destination such as where to sleep, what to do, and what to eat while you are there.
If you are planning an upcoming journey to Northern Norway in order to experience what the Arctic has to offer, then here is everything that you will need to know.
Check Into a Unique Hotel
The very first thing that you will need to do when you arrive in Norway is find a place to drop off your stuff and lay your head down after a long day of adventuring. While there are traditional hotels that are similar to those that can be found in a lot of other countries, the Arctic is also home to some of the most unique hotels in the world.
One great example is the Kirkenes Snowhotel. Located just off of Bøkfjord, the Kirkenes Snowhotel is exactly what it sounds like, a hotel made almost entirely out of snow. You have the ability to stay in rooms where the floor, walls, and ceilings are all made of snow, with detailed snow art molded into the walls for your viewing pleasure.
Despite the cold environment, the Snowhotel manages to actually be a reasonable temperature of 4-degrees Celsius and provide separate heated bathrooms to help give you a comfortable taste of the Arctic.
If you decide to visit during the summer, then you can stay at one of the many wooden cottages that they have available instead. Either way, you get to stay in one of the most beautiful locations in the entire Arctic.
Try the Local Cuisine
When visiting another part of the world, you shouldn’t stick to your usual food choices since traveling is the perfect opportunity to expand your cultural horizons when it comes to your palate. Luckily, in the Arctic, a lot of the foods that are eaten in other parts of the world are either not available or very expensive. In the place of these missing dishes are a vast variety of local dishes that have been perfected over hundreds of years of practicing with the available ingredients.
A great example of this is lutefisk, which is cod that is then soaked in lye to create a gelatinous texture. This can be found throughout most of the Arctic regions and is almost guaranteed to be unlike anything you’ve tasted before.
Another more popular regional dish is something called brown cheese, or brunost, which is what the locals refer to it as. Despite what its name suggests, brunost is not actually cheese at all. Instead, it is made using caramelized whey which results in it taking on a thick brown form that resembles cheese when it is left to solidify. It is then eaten by taking a peeler and shaving off thin slices to put on top of other dishes such as bread and waffles. The taste is somewhat like a salty fudge, which is what makes so many people fall in love with this unique Arctic dish.
Experience the Great Outdoors
Throughout most of the Arctic, hiking is a very popular activity for both locals and tourists. This is because Norway has an array of mountains to hike, all of which lead to stunning vistas. In addition, there are also many glaciers, which allow people to do a lot of glacier hiking. Most people assume they’ll never get the opportunity to see a glacier in person, let alone climb one.
You can also venture into the middle of the wilderness without trekking up a mountain or a glacier. Instead, you can hop onto the back of a sled and be pulled by either a team of dogs or reindeer. This is the perfect choice for any animal lovers that want to visit the Arctic.
However, not everyone is so interested in physically demanding activities. Luckily, the Arctic also provides one of the most beautiful and laidback activities in the entire world. Take a trip up to the northern Norwegian city of Tromsø and you will have the opportunity to take in the beautiful lights of the Aurora Borealis. These Northern Lights are the perfect example of nature at its most beautiful and you are able to enjoy it without having to hike several hours into the wilderness, although, if you do want to make a hike out of your viewing experience, that’s definitely the way to get the best views.
By doing all, or even just some, of these activities, you can help to ensure that you have an incredible time on your visit to the Arctic. So make sure you to pick the right hotel, eat the right foods, and choose the right activities in order to give yourself the ultimate arctic adventure.
The best arctic experiences
Check out our exciting collection of activities in the arctic here!
